SC State Football program will be featured on ESPNU

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

MEAC Announces 2008 TV Schedule; Bulldogs to Make Two Appearances

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 24, 2008 – The South Carolina State football team will make two television appearances during the 2008 season as part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s partnership with the ESPN Family networks, according to the schedule announced by the league today (Tuesday).

As part of the seven-year partnership with ESPN, the 2008 MEAC television schedule features nine games -- three Thursday evening and six Saturday dates.

The Bulldogs will appear on ESPNU during consecutive weeks – traveling to Delaware State for a Saturday, Nov. 1, contest at Dover, Delaware (1 p.m.) that will be seen on tape delay, then host Howard just five days later, Nov. 6, in one of six Thursday night live contests. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“We are excited and eager to kick off the 2008 ESPN television schedule,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “This football season promises to be another competitive season with many teams capable of being in the hunt for the conference title. The 2008 television schedule highlights our fine institutions, athletic programs, coaches and student-athletes by showcasing their tremendous talents on a national platform.”

The 2008 television schedule kicks off on ESPN2 with the MEAC/SWAC Challenge featuring Hampton University and non-conference opponent Jackson State University Sunday, August 31 in Orlando, Florida beginning at 2 p.m. Defending conference champion Delaware State will host Florida A&M live on ESPNU on Thursday, September 4 beginning at 7:30 p.m. The schedule wraps up with the Florida Classic featuring Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M. That game will broadcast on ESPN Classic.

ESPNU, which was launched in 2005, features extensive studio programming and live coverage of games. ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with Charter, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 609), Echostar’s DISH Network (Channel 148), Insight Communications, Mediacom, Time Warner, and Verizon, along with many smaller affiliates, and is close to distribution agreements with others. ESPNU reached 20 million households at the start of the 2007 college football season.